Red Dead Redemption 2 Gang Camp Morale Gameplay Details

By Jasmine Henry 22 May 2018

Although Red Dead Redemption 2 is focused on Arthur Morgan, the game will also focus on the character’s role in the Van der Linde gang. As detailed in the new trailer for the game, the Rockstar Games title sees the group on the run from bounty hunters and federal agents, stealing and shooting their way across the Wild West. But it seems that the game will explore the inner workings of the gang further than some may have expected.

In a recent Red Dead Redemption 2 preview event, which saw Rockstar present a 45-minute demo of the game to press, the developer revealed some more members of the Van der Linde gang. In addition to Dutch Van der Linde, Javier Escuella, Bill Williamson, and John Marston (who was the protagonist of Red Dead Redemption), some of the newly introduced gang members include Micha Bell and Sadie Adler who were seen talking to Morgan in the latest trailer.

There are also two new characters called Karen and Lenny, who accompany Bill and Arthur on a bank heist in one Red Dead Redemption 2 mission. Then there’s Sean McGuire who is described as a “cheery Irish joker” who tells good stories, Uncle is an older male character who appears to be a drunk, and Pearson is the cook. Full details on each of the gang members are not available just yet, but it sounds as though Rockstar has crafted each of them to have their own personalities.

Managing and understand those personalities will be fairly important to players because Red Dead Redemption 2 also introduces a camp morale feature. One of the major changes to the game (along with the tweaks to gun gameplay), camp morale allows Morgan to impact the mood of the camp through his actions. For example, if the camp is hungry, the protagonist can go hunting to bring back some meat or he can go and buy other supplies that the camp has asked for. Without these resources, gang members may complain, but when they’re happy, players will witness them singing songs or telling stories like McGuire.

The first Red Dead Redemption was a relatively solo affair and players could think about John Marson without needing to have much concern for an entire group of people in the sense of food and resources. Though, Rockstar seems to be aware of this and has confirmed that camp will continue to run regardless of player actions, suggesting that players who still want to do their own thing will be able to do so.